the Way of the Turtle

BIRDS & FLOWERS
1.6 Mile Walk Around Buckingham Lake
Thursday, May 5, 2011

I'd been hoping to go for a run this evening but when I did the math I just had too much work to disappear for 2 1/2 hours (45 min round trip to a trailhead plus 90-105 min of running.) But I did need to stop at the store so I decided to first go to Buckingham Lake and walk the path around the lake twice. It was a nice evening for a walk, and especially nice to see the trees budding and blossoming and various other flowers starting to bloom. Right at the start I got a couple of nice shots of a squirrel perched on the edge of a trash can - no one can say those guys haven't adapted to living around people. Also got to see quite a few ducks and best of all, a female with a group of tiny little fuzzy ducklings. I spent a while watching them dart around getting food and, surprise, took a lot of pictures of the little fuzzballs. Along the way I also spotted a Baltimore Oriole and a small dark blue bird I'd never seen before - sadly he was too quick for me to get a clear photo, but I'm pretty sure he was a Black-throated Blue Warbler, and quite a striking little guy he was, too. In the end I probably took more time for my walk than I should have, but I'm glad I got outside and saw more than a few sights that made me smile.

JMH